Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if he will hold discussions with Natwest on the potential merits of pausing their planned closure of Ulster Bank branches.

There are no plans to discuss with Natwest the recent announcement for the Ulster Bank branch network which is ultimately an operational decision for the bank. The Secretary of State and I, however, recognise that decisions around branch closures may cause concern in those areas which are impacted, and for staff, and I urge Natwest to provide timely and informative updates to the communities they serve and ensure that access to in person banking services can be maintained where possible through other routes.